Mr. Speaker, today is World Polio Day, a day to celebrate the work that Rotary International has done to help eliminate polio and to work toward the final goal of eradicating it.
Thirty years ago, Rotarians launched the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication. Since then, Rotarians have contributed more than $1.6 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. Today, the number of confirmed polio cases globally has fallen by more than 99.9%. There are only three countries where polio has not been eliminated, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan, but there is more work to be done. Canadians can help in this fight by donating to Rotary and can learn more by visiting the website, endpolio.org.
Thanks to the work of Rotarians in Canada and right across the globe, we are close to eradicating polio. Let us work together to finish the job.